E piʻi aku i ke ala ʻūlili!Ascend the steep trail!

Join us on this journey up the steep trails of our kulāiwi on the slopes of Maunakea!Beginning at the kahakai,click on the wao delineated in picture below to experience the various places and challenges that we will encounter along this journey.

The kahakai, or coastal region in this area is rugged, where skilled fisher people descended steep cliffs to access the ocean.

Hāmākua i ke Ala ʻŪlili

Historically, this sacred summit region was accessed by ʻŌiwi when necessary for spiritual and cultural practices, by means of a few trails which connected the district’s coastal communities to its upland slopes on Mauna a Wākea. These long, steep trails are the reason why this region of Hāmākua is noted as “Hāmākua i ke ala ʻūlili” (Hāmākua of the steep trails) (Pukui 1983, 53). Among a number of ceremonial and subsistence purposes, this trail was primarily utilized to access the mountain’s adze quarry at Keanakākoʻi, to gather important hardwoods and grasses, to hunt valuable meat birds, to deposit the piko of newborns, and to inter the deceased.

Photo & Graphics by huiMAU. (c) 2012.

Mahalo for visiting our Hui Mālama i ke Ala ʻŪlili Website!

Hui Mālama i ke Ala ʻŪlili is a community-based nonprofit organization. Our mission is to re-establish the systems that sustain our community through educational initiatives and land-based practices that cultivate abundance, regenerate responsibilities, and promote collective health and well-being.